By Max Sargent

There are many ways to propagate cannabis, and some of them seem almost supernatural. In this article, we’ll explore the advanced technique of air layering, which allows you to grow new roots on a cannabis branch while it remains attached to the mother plant. From here, the branch is independently planted, where it will grow into a thriving, mature specimen.

Highly effective and speedy, this an interesting cloning method that some cultivators swear by.

How Air Layering Propagation Works

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Air layering propagation, also known as air cloning, works on a variety of plants. It seems to work particularly well with woody plants like figs, yuccas, as well as fruit-bearing trees—but it can also work very well with cannabis. It allows you to propagate branches from a plant while they are still attached to the parent stock, by sealing them off in a kind of makeshift chamber with moist moss.

In doing so, the branch starts developing its own roots and can later be cut and planted independently. Air layering can actually happen naturally in the wild when a branch touches the ground. Over time, the branch can develop its own roots that grow deep below the surface.

Can Cannabis Be Air Layered?

Cannabis absolutely can be air layered, and to good effect. Before we go further, it’s worth noting that air layering is only really effective with photoperiod cannabis plants, as the cloned branch can/should be held in the vegetative stage until it is a good size. Autoflowering plants could be air layered, but the resulting clone would be small and unproductive, so it’s best to stick to photoperiod plants.

In terms of what time of year is best for air layering, you should begin and complete this process while the plant is in the vegetative stage. If it enters flowering while the process is ongoing, then the clone won’t grow any bigger.

So, if you’re growing outdoors, the best time of year to air layer would be in the spring. The sooner you can replant the new branch, the larger it will be able to grow before the days shorten and the plants enter the flowering stage. Air layer too late in the year, and the new plant will be very small.

If you’re growing indoors, you can pick any point during the vegetative stage, so long as you can rear the new clone in a separate space where you can maintain an 18/6 light cycle.


The Benefits of Air Layering Cannabis

Air layering cannabis is a more advanced technique and probably shouldn’t be attempted by novices. It’s not so much that you won’t be able to do it, but that you would be better focusing your attention on more important, basic cultivation skills—air layering and cloning can wait.

But if you want to try it, then the main benefit is that you can create genetic clones of desirable mother plants. It is preferable to conventional cloning because the roots develop while the branches are still attached to the plant, which can increase the chances of success.

With conventional cloning, you cut the branch and just hope the roots will take hold in the new medium. With air layering, as the roots are already developed when you separate the cutting, the chances of it successfully growing in its new medium are high.

It is also a fast propagation technique, with new roots developing in as little as two weeks. Moreover, you can grow the roots at the base of large branches, meaning the new growth will enter the medium as a large, mature plant. As such, it can be vegged for less time before it is ready to enter the flowering stage. This is particularly useful if you’re growing outside, as other propagation methods, such as conventional cloning, start with small cuttings that may not reach a suitable size before the light hours change.

A further reason that this method can be preferable to cloning is that, while the roots are developing, part of the plant is still receiving a full dose of nutrients from the mother plant, allowing for robust development. A regular clone goes through a stage where it receives very few nutrients, as it is cut from the mother and has no roots. This can result in failed rooting and dead cuttings.

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How to Propagate Cannabis Plants Using Air Layering

If you choose to air layer, you have to make sure you do it correctly, otherwise you might just end up damaging your plant without getting another. But it’s not too complex as a process, and the key lies in being careful and exact, rather than carrying out many complex steps. Below, we’ll clearly outline how to air layer cannabis plants.

Equipment

  • Durable plastic wrap/cling film, preferably opaque or black
  • Piece of sphagnum moss (rooting blocks can also work)
  • Some rooting/cloning gel
  • Sharp, sterilised knife
  • Rubber bands or cable ties

Directions

  1. Start by soaking your moss or rooting block in water. Then, squeeze it to remove any excess water so that it is very moist, but not soaked and dripping.
  2. Select the branch you want to clone. For best results, pick a strong branch that shows good vegetative growth. The larger the branch you pick, the bigger the new growth will be and the faster it will develop. You may need to remove some leaves from the branch to make room for the moss/rooting block. You want to make the cut at the lowest visible node.
  3. Making parallel cuts, score the part of the branch where you’ll wrap the moss or rooting block. You can do this by running the edge of your knife a few centimetres along the branch in a kind of peeling motion. Aim the blade slightly downward so it cuts into the branch but does not break it or go too far through, as this is counterproductive and will cause significant damage.
  4. Apply the rooting/cloning gel to the scored part of the plant.
  5. Cover the scored part of the branch and surrounding area with the moist moss/rooting block. Use rubber bands to hold it over the cut if it doesn’t stay put on its own.
  6. Wrap the moss or rooting block in plastic and tie off either end with the rubber bands/cable ties. You should create a kind of seal to trap the moisture around the branch and encourage it to develop roots. The better you replicate the subterranean world, the more vigorously the plant will put out new growth.
  7. Let the branch sit in the air chamber and check regularly for roots. Once the branch has developed a few healthy roots, you can cut it from the parent stock and plant it like a regular clone. Cut it cleanly just below the new growth, and plant it as you would a transplanted seedling.
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Tips for Air Layering Cannabis Plants

  • Take more cuttings than you need: Taking an extra cut or two can give you some leeway if things go wrong with one. Of course, you don’t want to dismember your plants too much, but some extras can give you more to play with. Plus, if all goes well, you’ll have plenty of desirable plants come harvest time.
  • Remove lower leaves from cutting: If you’re planting a big branch, then remove the lower leaves, as these will just use up energy that could be better used to spur new growth. Leaving only the top two or so rows of leaves will give the plant enough energy from photosynthesis and allow it to create new growth where necessary.
  • Cover inert media: If you’re planting in inert media such as Rockwool, it can help to cover it with opaque fabric to prevent the growth of algae or mold, which can damage a plant.
  • Ensure roots can breathe: Plant roots require oxygen to survive, and a freshly rooting cutting needs extra oxygen to quickly develop the large root system it requires to properly care for itself. Ensuring that the growing medium is adequately aerated will help to speed up the process and keep your cuttings happy and healthy.
  • Newly rooted cuttings prefer cooler temperatures: Try to reduce the ambient temperature of your grow space by 2–3ºC when the cut is newly rooted. As the roots develop, you can take it back up to a normal temperature. But for the first stage of growth, treat it more like a delicate seedling than a mature plant.
  • Keep the substrate moist: You shouldn’t let the new roots dry out at any point. While you shouldn't let it become soaking wet, aim to keep the substrate moist until the roots are more developed.

Should You Use Air Layering Instead of Other Propagation Methods for Cannabis?

Air layering is a good choice for propagating photoperiod cannabis plants, with some advantages over traditional cloning. It is faster, begins with more mature cuttings, and allows the roots to develop on the whole plant rather than after the cut is made—which can increase the chances of success.

There are very few drawbacks to this method, although some consider it more labor intensive than other methods. But really, it comes down to personal preference. If you’re an experienced cannabis grower and you want to explore new, effective, and interesting ways to propagate cannabis, then air layering is a must, even if you only try it once.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

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At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

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Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

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Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

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Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

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To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: